Physical Education

Mrs Williamson is the subject leader for PE.

At Morland Area Primary School we aim to give every child the enjoyment and satisfaction from physical activity and the opportunity to develop positive sporting attitudes.We intend to deliver high-quality teaching and learning opportunities that inspire all children to succeed in Physical Education and in developing life skills to help them succeed in future life. We also want to teach children how to cooperate and collaborate with others as part of an effective team, understanding fairness and developing effective communication through physical activity. Our curriculum aims to improve the wellbeing and fitness of all children, whilst encouraging healthy living at Morland Area Primary School, not only through the sporting skills taught, but through the values and disciplines that PE promotes.

The children in our school participate in a minimum of 2 hours PE per week, with the opportunity to access at least one other extra-curricular PE club out of school hours. We invite into school a wide variety of professional coaches to deliver high quality teaching specific to the sport. These coaches include Multi Skills, Tag Rugby, Dance, Archery, Cricket and Tennis for example. Children in Year 5 and Year 6 also complete a 2 day Sailing qualification each year. We take our children off site to external providers to access sporting activities such as Horse Riding (Reception, Year 1 and Year 2) and Gymnastics (all year groups).

Subject Content

PE in the Early Years:

Physical Education in the Early Years is extremely important at Morland Area Primary School. Children aged 3 and 4 are beginning their education and need to have access to as much physical activity as possible to help them develop both physically and mentally. We link all our physical development opportunities to the EYFS Early Learning Goals. We encourage the children to challenge themselves by offering physical opportunities both indoors and outdoors using the wide variety of resources that they have access to, to support the learning and development of skills. The Early Years children take part in two hours per week of planned physical activity with focus on developing fundamental skills such as throwing, catching, jumping, running and developing spatial awareness.

PE in Key Stage 1:

Pupils should develop fundamental movement skills, become increasingly competent and confident and access a broad range of opportunities to extend their agility, balance and coordination, individually and with others. They should be able to engage in competitive (both against self and against others) and co-operative physical activities, in a range of increasingly challenging situations.

Pupils should be taught to:

• master basic movements including running, jumping, throwing and catching, as well as developing balance, agility and co-ordination, and begin to apply these in a range of activities
• participate in team games, developing simple tactics for attacking and defending
• perform dances using simple movement patterns.

PE in Key Stage 2:

Pupils should continue to apply and develop a broader range of skills, learning how to use them in different ways and to link them to make actions and sequences of movement. They should enjoy communicating, collaborating and competing with each other. They should develop an understanding of how to improve in different physical activities and sports and learn how to evaluate and recognise their own success.

Pupils should be taught to:

• use running, jumping, throwing and catching in isolation and in combination
• play competitive games, modified where appropriate [for example, badminton, basketball, cricket, football, hockey, netball, rounders and tennis], and apply basic principles suitable for attacking and defending
• develop flexibility, strength, technique, control and balance [for example, through athletics and gymnastics]
• perform dances using a range of movement patterns
• take part in outdoor and adventurous activity challenges both individually and within a team
• compare their performances with previous ones and demonstrate improvement to achieve their personal best.

Purpose of study

A high-quality physical education curriculum inspires all pupils to succeed and excel in competitive sport and other physically demanding activities. It should provide opportunities for pupils to become physically confident in a way which supports their health and fitness. Opportunities to compete in sport and other activities build character and help to embed values such as fairness and respect.

Competitive Sport

As a school we are part of the Eden Valley Alliance. We attend all of their competitions and events which are accessible to all ages. We are very proud of the annual programme of sports competitions which are now embedded into the school year – High 5 Netball, Cross country, Football, Multi-skills for Key Stage 1, Key Steps Gymnastics, Quicksticks Hockey, Tri-Golf, Mini Tennis, Orienteering, Swimming Galas, Tag Rugby, Basic Moves for Key Stage 1, Rounders, Kwik Cricket and Athletics. Some of these competitions lead on to District – Eden and County – Cumbria competitions. Others are festivals for participation and development of new skills.

We aim to give all children opportunities to take part in healthy competition, to enable them to learn about winning, losing and fair play, and to develop a sporting presence in both victory and defeat. We will always try to encourage children who excel in specific sports/activities to ensure they have opportunities to take part in other competitions/events throughout the year. There will also be various ‘development’ activities offered by the Eden Valley Alliance which we try to get involved with when we can – an example of this is ‘Come and Try Thouckball’ sessions.

During the school day all of our Key Stage 2 children take part in completing ‘Mile a Day’ which is coordinated by Mrs Williamson. The aim is for them to complete 100 miles by the end of the year. Certain milestones are celebrated during our celebration assemblies.

We have a dedicated group of Sports Leaders made up of 8 individuals from Year 5 and 6. Our Sports Leaders run active games during the lunch hour for all children to get involved in. The school also offers a wide variety of sporting After School Clubs all year round for both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2.

Aims

The national curriculum for physical education aims to ensure that all pupils:

• develop competence to excel in a broad range of physical activities
• are physically active for sustained periods of time
• engage in competitive sports and activities
• lead healthy, active lives.

Attainment targets

By the end of each key stage, pupils are expected to know, apply and understand the matters, skills and processes specified in the relevant programme of study.

Swimming and Water Safety

All schools must provide swimming instruction either in Key Stage 1 or Key Stage 2.

In particular, pupils should be taught to:

• swim competently, confidently and proficiently over a distance of at least 25 metres
• use a range of strokes effectively [for example, front crawl, backstroke and breaststroke]
• perform safe self-rescue in different water-based situations